The countryside is once again looking incredibly green which is unusual for late August. The persistent rain has encouraged the grass to grow, including the lawns which now require mowing almost daily.
The cattle are looking well, they are obviously enjoying this unexpected late flush of grass. The steers have arrived at Randolphs having at last been tested clear of TB last week. Hopefully they are incredibly hungry as there is a huge amount of grass!
The wedding season at Ote Hall has been busy with many ceremonies held in near perfect conditions beneath cloudless skies. Sadly for the first time in many years the marriage ceremony on Bank Holiday Monday had to be relocated into the marquee. Fortunately the bride and groom took a very pragmatic view by ignoring the inconvenient rain which did nothing to spoil their perfect day
There are still many acres of uncut wheat across the country, which have now lost their golden hue and look decidedly dull. The wet weather will have reduced the premium bread making quality, and much will end up as low grade feed wheat. If the rain continues much longer, the crop will be completely useless as the grain will begin to sprout in the ears.
It is vital we get some dry weather so this year’s long drawn out harvest can come to an end so we can move on to other things. Our Lupins need at least ten days of dry before they are anywhere near the magic 15% moisture or below.
Maybe now that the BBC has sacked the Met Office for whatever reason, and taken on a New Zealand meteorological company which sources much of its data from our Met Office, we will in future get Southern Hemisphere weather!
Full marks to whoever it was within the Treasury to target the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in a bid to cut costs in Whitehall. Give that man a bonus!
The pity is that its responsibilities are to be moved to the department of the Environment and the Treasury. It would make more sense to scrap it altogether. However, I am sure the very capable Amber Rudd is doing her best to bring some kind of common sense to the department; she could certainly do no worse than her predecessors.
I am curious as to why Greg Barker has been given a peerage! He was MP for Bexhill and Battle for a mere 14 years, is still only in his 40s and plans to return to his previous employment ‘in Private Equity, including working abroad’.
A previous long standing MP for Bexhill and Rye, as it was then, who served this constituency for over 28 years, was deputy Chairman of ways and Means, Deputy Speaker under George Thomas, and served within the Ministry of Education and the Treasury. He was a Privy Councillor, a joint secretary of the 1922 committee, and for many years held senior positions within the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He received no peerage, just a knighthood as did most long standing former MPs, who in those days devoted much of their lives to their constituencies and Parliament.
MPs in rural constituencies are calling for the reinstatement of some railway lines which Mr Beeching closed over 50 years ago. The state of the railway net- work across Sussex and into London has become unacceptable for commuters. Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, has brought this to the attention of Mr Osborne and the Treasury, it seems with some success. Hopefully in due course a new line from the south coast to London will improve conditions and lessen the load on the London to Brighton route.
Rather than building more affordable houses in the countryside, and encouraging millions to work part time from their ‘country’ homes, it would make more sense to build additional housing stock around existing towns and cities, and focus on enlarging the railway network. The roads and railways are already overloaded and inadequate; by spreading the population out into rural areas an already over-burdened public transport system will surely break down.
Those who choose to live in rural communities do so because they like open spaces and the countryside. Building more houses on green field sites to be occupied by people who have been moved out of the cities, many of whom prefer urban dwelling, is hardly logical.
It is about time ministers consulted more with their back bench MPs who gain first-hand knowledge from listening to their constituents, something ministers obviously fail to do. It seems that theorists (called advisers) have far too much influence, and too often when policies and strategies are unveiled, it is clear they are wildly divorced from reality.
Carola Godman Irvine
The cattle are looking well, they are obviously enjoying this unexpected late flush of grass. The steers have arrived at Randolphs having at last been tested clear of TB last week. Hopefully they are incredibly hungry as there is a huge amount of grass!
The wedding season at Ote Hall has been busy with many ceremonies held in near perfect conditions beneath cloudless skies. Sadly for the first time in many years the marriage ceremony on Bank Holiday Monday had to be relocated into the marquee. Fortunately the bride and groom took a very pragmatic view by ignoring the inconvenient rain which did nothing to spoil their perfect day
There are still many acres of uncut wheat across the country, which have now lost their golden hue and look decidedly dull. The wet weather will have reduced the premium bread making quality, and much will end up as low grade feed wheat. If the rain continues much longer, the crop will be completely useless as the grain will begin to sprout in the ears.
It is vital we get some dry weather so this year’s long drawn out harvest can come to an end so we can move on to other things. Our Lupins need at least ten days of dry before they are anywhere near the magic 15% moisture or below.
Maybe now that the BBC has sacked the Met Office for whatever reason, and taken on a New Zealand meteorological company which sources much of its data from our Met Office, we will in future get Southern Hemisphere weather!
Full marks to whoever it was within the Treasury to target the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in a bid to cut costs in Whitehall. Give that man a bonus!
The pity is that its responsibilities are to be moved to the department of the Environment and the Treasury. It would make more sense to scrap it altogether. However, I am sure the very capable Amber Rudd is doing her best to bring some kind of common sense to the department; she could certainly do no worse than her predecessors.
I am curious as to why Greg Barker has been given a peerage! He was MP for Bexhill and Battle for a mere 14 years, is still only in his 40s and plans to return to his previous employment ‘in Private Equity, including working abroad’.
A previous long standing MP for Bexhill and Rye, as it was then, who served this constituency for over 28 years, was deputy Chairman of ways and Means, Deputy Speaker under George Thomas, and served within the Ministry of Education and the Treasury. He was a Privy Councillor, a joint secretary of the 1922 committee, and for many years held senior positions within the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He received no peerage, just a knighthood as did most long standing former MPs, who in those days devoted much of their lives to their constituencies and Parliament.
MPs in rural constituencies are calling for the reinstatement of some railway lines which Mr Beeching closed over 50 years ago. The state of the railway net- work across Sussex and into London has become unacceptable for commuters. Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, has brought this to the attention of Mr Osborne and the Treasury, it seems with some success. Hopefully in due course a new line from the south coast to London will improve conditions and lessen the load on the London to Brighton route.
Rather than building more affordable houses in the countryside, and encouraging millions to work part time from their ‘country’ homes, it would make more sense to build additional housing stock around existing towns and cities, and focus on enlarging the railway network. The roads and railways are already overloaded and inadequate; by spreading the population out into rural areas an already over-burdened public transport system will surely break down.
Those who choose to live in rural communities do so because they like open spaces and the countryside. Building more houses on green field sites to be occupied by people who have been moved out of the cities, many of whom prefer urban dwelling, is hardly logical.
It is about time ministers consulted more with their back bench MPs who gain first-hand knowledge from listening to their constituents, something ministers obviously fail to do. It seems that theorists (called advisers) have far too much influence, and too often when policies and strategies are unveiled, it is clear they are wildly divorced from reality.
Carola Godman Irvine
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